Song of the South (1946) (1 Viewer)

[MatthewA]

Is Song of the South your favorite film, Matthew? I mean I think they should release it as a piece of history but I'm not upset about them not releasing it. I wish someone would put out The Devils as well, but I guess nobody wants to do that either.

I have both on DVD so while it would be better to have a great release on Blu-ray there are many more pictures for me to watch.

No, actually Bedknobs and Broomsticks is, but there wouldn't be such a film were there not a Song of the South first, and for Disney to un-restore that after all the work it took to put the original cut back together again feels like an extension of their mutiny against SotS. But those two films constitute some of my very first memories watching movies, and I'm glad I was born in time for the last theatrical reissue of Song of the South. Disney's subsequent actions changed nothing in the real world, and their smug chest-thumping about how much better things supposedly are now does not match their actions*.

*Another Joel, just like Joel Chandler Harris.

 

[RobertMG]

Not by all of the public

The funny thing is that Warners put themselves in the corner with The Devils. If they had just been releasing it on the various formats over the years, it would have been out on Blu-ray years ago with no controversy. By keeping it out of circulation for so long, Warners made the movie 'forbidden' and if they release it now, the internet will say "Holy shit, Warners is finally putting out The Devils" and that will get a disingenuous backlash from a handful of cranks and a certain segment of the media. However, in the case of Song Of The South, there's been no way for decades to release that that doesn't get disastrously terrible press and a backlash that is too big to deal with.

Both re-issues in the 70's and 80's were successful and to have even Whoopi Goldberg say the film should be released is a good thing. Funny thing the adults are the ones that ruin things. I dislike the way groups have been portrayed in film for decades Italians, Asians and others too had horrible stereotypes too but I think about Hal Roach describing his inspiration for OUR GANG when he saw a group of kids playing in a field - he had all ethnic and also creeds as kids getting, along same with SOTS their is a great bond between the two boys and the girl both black and whites yet the two bad goons are the white bullies. It is the parents and adults in the films that act terrible.

 

[TravisR]

Both re-issues in the 70's and 80's were successful...

I think everyone would agree that the world is very different from 35 years ago.

 

[RobertMG]

I think everyone would agree that the world is very different from 35 years ago.

Yes but the so called adults caused this --- it is a film from the 1940's - episodes of Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons and even saw a show on Cartoon Network use the N Word and are still in circulation but a film from the 1940's is Verboten? What does not make sense though is these horrendous bootlegs which are really sad are out there and Disney will lose the copyright soon again release it thru the club this way only those who want will have access.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

The funny thing is that Warners put themselves in the corner with The Devils. If they had just been releasing it on the various formats over the years, it would have been out on Blu-ray years ago with no controversy. By keeping it out of circulation for so long, Warners made the movie 'forbidden' and if they release it now, the internet will say "Holy shit, Warners is finally putting out The Devils" and that will get a disingenuous backlash from a handful of cranks and a certain segment of the media. However, in the case of Song Of The South, there's been no way for decades to release that that doesn't get disastrously terrible press and a backlash that is too big to deal with.

Well, if Disney released Song of the South I think that would create a massive backlash, where there would be a lot of complaints that they put it out and it would generate a lot of mayhem on social media.

I can't imagine that there are many people now that know anything about The Devils though so I kind of think, and granted I probably exist in my own little bubble, that aside from a few fans of old movies it would go pretty much totally unnoticed if they released it.

I honestly doubted that Warner Brothers even had an issue with releasing it until Joe Dante said they had an issue with releasing it. I had always thought that was a myth because practically nobody even knows what The Devils is...outside of a tiny group of film fans.

Everybody knows what Disney is and so Song of the South would immediately be news.

 

[RobertMG]

Well, if Disney released Song of the South I think that would create a massive backlash, where there would be a lot of complaints that they put it out and it would generate a lot of mayhem on social media.

I can't imagine that there are many people now that know anything about The Devils though so I kind of think, and granted I probably exist in my own little bubble, that aside from a few fans of old movies it would go pretty much totally unnoticed if they released it.

I honestly doubted that Warner Brothers even had an issue with releasing it until Joe Dante said they had an issue with releasing it. I had always thought that was a myth because practically nobody even knows what The Devils is...outside of a tiny group of film fans.

Everybody knows what Disney is and so Song of the South would immediately be news.

I never heard of The Devils

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I never heard of The Devils

It's an obscure picture that few people have seen from 1971. It received an X rating at the time. It is certainly what you would call a cult film with a tiny cult following. Outside of that tiny cult you likely would have a very hard time finding anybody that knows what it is.

 

[Josh Dial]

I think there is a path for Disney to release Song of the South, but I suspect they would never bother trying.

They should spend a bunch of money getting top critics of all stripes to opine on the movie. Its racism, its relative importance as a film, the lessons learned (if any). Put it all out there. Make a feature-length documentary about it. Tear it to shreds or put it on a pedestal: wherever the modern, 21st century criticism takes us. Basically, get a bunch of smart people to talk about the movie. Put the documentary on Disney+. Then: release the movie uncensored, with whatever warning/message the critics work out (maybe a suggestion to watch the documentary first).

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I think there is a path for Disney to release Song of the South, but I suspect they would never bother trying.

They should spend a bunch of money getting top critics of all stripes to opine on the movie. Its racism, its relative importance as a film, the lessons learned (if any). Put it all out there. Make a feature-length documentary about it. Tear it to shreds or put it on a pedestal: wherever the modern, 21st century criticism takes us. Basically, get a bunch of smart people to talk about the movie. Put the documentary on Disney+. Then: release the movie uncensored, with whatever warning/message the critics work out (maybe a suggestion to watch the documentary first).

I think openly discussing the history is how they should approach it but the problem is it is easy for you or I to say that but they would prefer not to bring any attention to it whatsoever. So, they don't want to have film scholars or historians discuss and contextualize it, they want to act as if it just did not happen.
It would make sense to create a "Disney History" line that released and discussed these pictures and the past but really they don't want to put the effort into something like that because it just would raise the profile of those pictures.

 

[TravisR]

Well, if Disney released Song of the South I think that would create a massive backlash, where there would be a lot of complaints that they put it out and it would generate a lot of mayhem on social media.

I can't imagine that there are many people now that know anything about The Devils though so I kind of think, and granted I probably exist in my own little bubble, that aside from a few fans of old movies it would go pretty much totally unnoticed if they released it.

I honestly doubted that Warner Brothers even had an issue with releasing it until Joe Dante said they had an issue with releasing it. I had always thought that was a myth because practically nobody even knows what The Devils is...outside of a tiny group of film fans.

Everybody knows what Disney is and so Song of the South would immediately be news.

I completely agree. If Warners announced they were releasing The Devils, movie fans would be happy and the next time there was a slow news day, certain media outlets would cry about Hollywood being a moral sewer or something but ultimately no one would care because few have heard of The Devils. On the other hand, if Song Of The South was announced, it would dominate the news cycle for at least a day (barring a major political event) and Disney would not be happy with 99% of the coverage.

 

[Worth]

...I honestly doubted that Warner Brothers even had an issue with releasing it until Joe Dante said they had an issue with releasing it...

Guillermo del Toro said someone with clout in the film industry, someone significant enough that Warner didn't want to annoy, absolutely hated The Devils and has succeeded in holding up its release, though it get a nice special edition DVD in the UK.

 

[bujaki]

Poor Ken Russell...he and his films already obscure and forgotten.

 

[MatthewA]

Oh, won't someone think of the poor multinational corporations?

 

[Jack P]

I think everyone would agree that the world is very different from 35 years ago.

And not necessarily for the better.

 

[Will Krupp]

I think there is a path for Disney to release Song of the South, but I suspect they would never bother trying.

I think openly discussing the history is how they should approach it but the problem is it is easy for you or I to say that but they would prefer not to bring any attention to it whatsoever.

While I agree with you both in theory, all you would need is ONE slightly dotty grandmother who buys a Disney "video" for her grandkids to see, ignores the warnings, and all hell would break loose. It's not worth their headache and they want nothing to do with it.

They aren't Warner Archive or a label that appeals primarily to adults. They are DISNEY and normal rules don't apply and likely never will.

episodes of Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons and even saw a show on Cartoon Network use the N Word and are still in circulation

I have no reference point whatsoever for the Cartoon Network expletive but, otherwise, you're just naming shows with African Americans in them and calling it the same? I don't get that.

 

[TravisR]

I have no reference point whatsoever for the Cartoon Network expletive...

It's likely The Boondocks. It was largely written and performed by African-Americans. It was mostly a cult show and aired late at night but its frequent use of the n-word did cause a stir when it first started airing 15 years ago. The language was the only thing that people talked about with the show which was unfortunate because there was some interesting points raised by the show that were otherwise ignored.

 

[cinemiracle]

I never heard of The Devils

A must see film by Ken Russell- Controversial at the time but is was a huge success at the box-office .There were several controversial scenes that were removed from the film before it was released. This included 'the rape of Christ ' and other scenes.The Uncut and restored dvd included the missing scenes re-instated as well as 70 min of extras.It was released by Film Media but it may not be available any longer.The European disc was NSTC format.. Luckily I have the dvd in my collection.

 

[cinemiracle]

Poor Ken Russell...he and his films already obscure and forgotten.

Absolute rubbish.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Absolute rubbish.

I was the one that made the remark about The Devils being obscure so that reply was based on something I had said. I am a fan of Ken Russell and so did not mean it as an insult nor any sort of putdown of his work. All I meant was that a picture made in 1971, that has been rarely shown and is not part of the group of pictures that have been widely shown and remain known due to that fact, is not part of the majority of people's memories at this point.

Sure, to us it is "rubbish" to say Russell and The Devils are obscure because we are part of that small group of film fans that enjoy older pictures but to most people now, even people that watch movies, they have no idea that the picture exists nor what it is about. Not any reflection of Russell or the film it is just that the picture has mostly been buried for decades and people have not seen it so have no attachment to it.

Also, I would not say, though I really do like that you feel that way, that The Devils is "must see" viewing. It is must see for film buffs, absolutely, but for most people I would not call it must see. It is a weird and, probably now, way too slow and complex ride for most movie goers today. Unless you privately funded it, it would never get made nor released anywhere today. It had problems even in the free for all 1970s.

Look, even Kubrick, long a god director, a lot of people today just would find a total bore. I say that being the most giant Kubrick fan you could stumble upon. His works are no longer in step with what people want out of a movie. They are complex, slow, don't explain every little thing to the audience, require that you pay close attention, and are to be pondered...something today, most people find ponderous.

Trust me I tried to show 2001 to a group of people younger than me once and they found it awful. Not stupid people either, one was a scientist, one an engineer, another an English major...and they told me my taste in pictures was dreadful.

When you get outside of our little box of film fans, particularly older film fans, or people that work in the industry...the truth is the awareness of and love for these pictures drops off a cliff. That's just the way things are.

 

[RobertMG]

I think there is a path for Disney to release Song of the South, but I suspect they would never bother trying.

They should spend a bunch of money getting top critics of all stripes to opine on the movie. Its racism, its relative importance as a film, the lessons learned (if any). Put it all out there. Make a feature-length documentary about it. Tear it to shreds or put it on a pedestal: wherever the modern, 21st century criticism takes us. Basically, get a bunch of smart people to talk about the movie. Put the documentary on Disney+. Then: release the movie uncensored, with whatever warning/message the critics work out (maybe a suggestion to watch the documentary first).

I think Whoopi Goldberg wanted to do something along these lines